Time Bomb
by Secret Slayer
Summary: AU AtS S5/ BTVS S4. Spike has disappeared and suddenly so many things that were wrong in the world, seem to have miraculously been fixed. Angel goes on a journey to find answers and finds Spike, who's more than willing to tell the story of how he changed the world, but happy endings are for fairy tales, right? It's just a matter of time before the consequences start rolling in...
1. Chapter 1

**AN: **This had to be written. It just dawned on me this morning that this could be pretty cool and I've not read a twist like this before. I hope you guys like it and would very much like to hear your feedback. Thanks guys! Please enjoy.

**Summary:** AU AtS S5/ BTVS S4. Spike has disappeared and suddenly so many things that were wrong in the world, seem to have miraculously been fixed. Angel goes on a journey to find answers and finds Spike, who's more than willing to tell the story of how he changed the world.

**Time Bomb**

**By Secret Slayer**

**Chapter One**

Angel closes his eyes as the bright beam of energy scorches through the skin of Illyria and then breaks out from crevices in her skin. She convulses with pain and her head snaps back, turning rigid from the amount of energy coursing through her entire being. Wesley stumbles back from the force, but keeps a tight grip on the gun, efficiently zapping the power straight from the blue haired immortal.

The light from the gun is too bright. All eyes lose vision and nobody sees him vanish.

The gun cuts its own power off, knowing it's finished the job. Illyria crumbles to the floor, resting her forehead against the linoleum, her body heaving as the impact of what has happened settles in. Wesley's face softens with a sympathy he'd rather not feel.

"Illyria," he begins, stepping towards her, although he's sure he doesn't feel strongly enough to comfort the creature.

Her head snaps up and icy blue eyes lock with his, an immeasurable anger building behind them.

"Touch me and die, vermin," she snaps weakly.

Her voice holds no strength, but Wesley knows better than to push her. Her head hangs limply again, her breathing laboured and loud in the silence that's descended in the room. Angel shuffles awkwardly, unsure what to say, when he frowns, realising that its been too quiet for too long.

"It's too quiet in here," he mumbles to himself, but Lorne looks up at the sound of his voice, watching him questioningly, practically seeing the cogs turn in the vampire's head. For the first time since the light has gone, Angel looks around the room. His frown deepens. He looks around the room again. "Where's Spike?"

Lorne's eyes widen and he spins around frantically, as if he'll suddenly find the blonde vampire hidden in a corner and will be able to sigh with relief. He doesn't find him. Wesley scowls at the empty place where Spike had stood before they had turned the gun on.

"Perhaps," the Englishman begins, and clears his throat as though he's about to announce something rather tragic. "Perhaps, Spike was caught in the blast of the ray and – and..."

Angel predicts his train of thought and shakes his head, "There's no dust."

A hollow laugh erupts from the blue demon and simultaneously, eyes fall to her. Slowly, her head rises to face them.

"Stupid lesser beings," she says through gritted teeth.

"You know what happened to Spike?" Wesley asks carefully.

She's on her feet in the blink of an eye, standing toe to toe with Wesley before he even has a chance to register she's moved. He's momentarily disappointed that the gun hasn't lessened her powers more. She's still inhumanly quick. Her head cocks to the side and cold blue eyes examine him thoroughly. She tilts her head to the other side so that she can look at Angel over his shoulder.

"When you removed my power," she began, her voice low and seething, "Some of my power escaped before it evaporated to nothing. I believe the white haired one was in its path."

Angel impatiently places his hands on his hips, "You mean to say Spike's travelled through time? Like what just happened with us?"

Wesley turns his head and looks at the vampire curiously. Angel purses his lips at the questioning glare from the Englishman.

"I'll explain later," Angel sighs.

Suddenly, Illyria stumbles back and begins choking. Wesley steps forward to help her, but she holds a hand up, stopping him in his tracks.

"My power is my undoing," she whispers.

Her hands rake through her blue hair and she screams. Angel, Lorne and Wesley all step back from the shock of the ear piercing sound.

"What the hell is going on?" Wesley asks.

Illyria stills and a wicked, soul-curdling smile creeps across her normally emotionless features. Her head twitches to the side as though she's heard something very quiet.

"The vampire has been busy."

And then she's gone.

And then she's there.

"What are ya'll lookin' at?"

There's an impossibly long silence before Wesley scowls, "It's a trick."

Lorne shakes his head sadly, before looking away. "I need a sea breeze. Let me know if Spike turns up or if there's anything I can do to help."

The green demon turns to leave, his hand on the doors that leads out of the training room, when Angel makes him stop short – makes his heart fall into the pit of his stomach.

"It's her," is all the vampire says.

The gun slips from Wesley's hands and clatters to the floor, making Lorne jump and turn back around to face them. Tears are in Wesley's eyes almost immediately. "It can't be. Her soul was destroyed."

"I can smell her soul," Angel says, then smiles. "Fred, it's really you."

Fred looks at the men in the room as though they've lost their minds. "Have you boys been drinking?"

"Freddles?" Lorne asks hopefully.

Fred frowns and looks between the wide eyes staring back at her, until they fall on the already bloodshot eyes of her boyfriend. "Wes, what's going on?"

Wesley smiles, "That's something I'd very much like to know."

And then, before Fred can brace herself, she gets three sets of arms surrounding her in a hug that almost knocks her off her feet.

"Why are you all squashing Fred?"

Angel's head snaps up.

Cordelia.

And... Connor? No, it can't be.

Cordelia stands in the frame of the door, a little boy in her arms, cradled on her hip. She's glowing, is Angel's first thought and not in a demon possessed, supernatural way. A genuine, healthy and happy human kind of glow- the kind that comes from being very much alive.

The little boy giggles.

"It can't be," Wesley whispers.

"They've gone kinda loopy," Fred says.

Cordelia frowns, "I can see."

Angel breaks away from the embrace with Fred and stumbles forward, so overwhelmed he seems to have forgotten how to walk. He stands before the woman, inhales deeply. Yes, definitely smells like her. The little boy squirms and reaches out both arms towards Angel.

"Someone wants their daddy," Cordelia says with a smile.

Feeling almost numb from the emotion overload, Angel hesitates at first, but then takes his son and holds him tight to his chest, kissing the mop of brown hair on his head.

"Angel, are you okay?" Cordelia asks, gently touching his arm.

Angel nods and then smiles so brightly, Cordelia thinks his face might crack.

"I'm fantastic!"

Wesley clears his throat and Angel turns. It warms his unbeating heart to see the Englishman holding Fred's hand.

"I don't want to ruin the moment," he says regretfully, "But we do still have the Spike problem."

"Right. We need to find him."

"Spike?" Cordelia echoes, confused. "Why do you need to find him? He's where he's always been."

Angel frowns and from his perplexed look, Cordelia elaborates. "He's with Buffy."

"Buffy?" the vampire repeats.

"Yeah, you know. Peppy blonde, professional vampire killer," Cordelia explains. "She who hangs out in cemeteries a lot."

"I know who Buffy is," Angel replies automatically.

"Right, well they're in Sunnydale... that place we used to hang until we totally outgrew the Hellmouth and moved on to bigger, better things."

Wesley and Angel share a look, before both looking back at Cordelia.

"Sunnydale?!" they ask in unison, jaws almost hitting the floor.

* * *

><p>The first thing Spike is aware of is that he can't move his arms. He wiggles his fingers. Good, they're there. At least he knows his hands haven't been cut off again by a deranged slayer. His eyes are shut; he hasn't dared open them since the blinding light from that gun Wesley hit Illyria with. At first, his senses are practically numb. He doesn't hear anything or smell anything, only feels the dull thud of a headache pounding in the darkness of his mind. Maybe he got knocked unconscious or something and he's just coming around. That would make sense. Apart from not being able to move his arms – he doesn't have a good feeling about that.<p>

Cold water hits his face and he's forced to open his eyes. The light in the room burns his eyes at first and he has to blink several times to focus his vision. Even when it's focused, he blinks several more times.

"Spike, now isn't the time for napping," Buffy says with an eye roll, tapping her foot impatiently.

Spike frowns and looks down at the empty glass in her hand, a small drop of water dripping to the carpeted floor. He follows the path of the drip and in doing so, looks down far enough to see his arms tied to a chair. At least that explains the lack of movement - not exactly comforting though.

"Oh bloody hell," he grumbles.

He looks to the side. Giles' kitchen, complete with the ex-watcher, who's leaning against the fridge with a heavy volume in his hands. Spike scans the rest of the apartment. Xander is laying down on the couch, he can tell by the brightly coloured trouser legs poking out at the end and the distinct smell of fruit roll ups. The witch isn't here or Anya. Spike tries to think back to exactly what day this could be, but Buffy's voice cuts straight across his line of thinking.

"What the hell was that about anyway?" Buffy asks, folding her arms over her chest. "You just passed out on us."

"He's probably just trying to avoid answering our questions," Xander grumbles from the couch, popping his head over the top to glare at the vampire. "I vote we beat it out of him."

"Oh this has got to be some sort of bloody nightmare," Spike sighs with exasperation. "Somebody pinch me."

"This isn't exactly a picnic for us either," Buffy retorts, assuming he's talking about being stuck in Giles's living room.

"Can't we just stake him," Xander says. "There must be other ways to find out about these commando guys."

"Of all the sodding times to be sent back to," Spike growls.

Buffy raises an eyebrow at the vampire, "Excuse me?"

Spike purses his lips, considering his options on how to play this situation out. He very almost has a plan forming, but Buffy distracts him. She's much younger here, not just in appearance, but in spirit too. Life hasn't made its mark on her yet. She stands before him, her bright blonde hair in soft bouncy curls that fall to her shoulders. She's wearing a summer dress. He hasn't seen her in one of those for a while. It was all about practicality in those last few months. Couldn't kill an army of uber vamps in a dainty little pink dress. He smiles for a moment, soaking in the vision of her, but then it occurs to him how terribly dangerous this is. Time travel was a fragile thing and he didn't want to screw it up. He needed to try and contact Angel, future Angel, and get back to his own time before he did any damage.

"You need to untie me," Spike says, straining against the ropes holding him in place.

"How about I _don't_ do that," the slayer replies slowly, watching the vampire struggle in the chair.

The chair creaks from his efforts and Spike can feel the fibers in the rope begin to loosen. Buffy's eyes widen, realizing that he could escape at any moment. He notices the panic on her face, knowing she'll knock him unconscious before he gets to the door. He stills just in time, her fist pulled back and ready to connect with his nose. Oh, his poor nose. He hadn't missed those days. He wiggles it subconsciously.

"Buffy luv, you've got to listen to me," he says carefully.

She pauses briefly, taken aback by Spike using her actual name, but quickly covers her surprise with a quip. "Oh yeah, you got more vague, unhelpful stories to tell about commando central?"

"Oh sod it," he huffs, knowing hiding things will get him nowhere. "I'm not the same Spike."

She drops her fist and rolls her eyes again, "What, being tied to this chair for a few days made you realize the errors of your ways and turned you into a new man? Cut the crap Spike."

"I'm from the future."

Buffy blinks once, before breaking out into hysterical laughter.

So much for not causing any damage.

_**TBC...**_


	2. Chapter 2

**AN:** Sorry this has taken forever guys! I hope you like the update! Please leave a review, they feed my muse! I have a feeling this is going to turn out to be an epic story and possibly my longest yet... I want to basically rewrite the entire show from season four onwards and go all through to season 5 of Angel and possibly onwards... There will be moments that go very AU, but also moments that keep in canon. Also, I've decided to write past tense.. sorry for the confusion...

**Time Bomb**

**By Secret Slayer**

**Chapter Two**

"That's it Slayer, laugh it up. The whole bloody world could be spinning off its axis and you just keep laughing. Brilliant plan," Spike sighed, rolling his eyes and turning towards Giles. "Rupert, make her stop."

Giles looked at the vampire with exasperation, "Now really Spike, do you honestly believe we'd trust what you say? Travelling through time? That really is quite farfetched, even by your standards."

Spike clenched his teeth with annoyance and then pursed his lips, looking back at the woman before him, a tear rolling down her cheek from her side-splitting laughter. Yes, he'd admit it, hearing her so happy and seeing her so glorious after all this time, was like heaven, but he knew too well that something like time travel was dangerous business. He also knew that he didn't belong there. It was an accident that he'd been sent back... right?

"Will you just bloody listen for one second," Spike snapped and the tone of his voice caught Buffy's attention.

She looked at him, but he could tell she wasn't really going to listen until he gave her something more. Her eyes were glistening with humour and she folded her arms over her chest and tapped her foot expectantly. Spike tried to think of something that would make her believe him. Mention Dawn? No, she doesn't even exist yet. What about Adam? I could have been tipped off about that. Hang on; I've still got the spark.

"I have a soul," Spike declared.

Buffy scoffed indignantly, "Yeah, right. You're from the future and you have a soul. Did the commandos completely mess with your brain?"

"Do a spell. Get your wiccan friends to do a little abra cadabra. I'm not lying Buffy and unless the bastard Powers That Be intended me to be here, the longer I stick around the more chance there is of me bollocking up your future."

"I hate to say this," Xander piped up from his seat on the couch, "But Dead Boy sounds kinda sincere."

Buffy looked at Spike for a long moment, the humour completely gone in her eyes.

"Fine, I'll call Willow," she finally answered.

Spike nodded and their eyes remained locked, both trying to figure the other out. Giles coughed to break their staring.

"Who cursed you with a soul?" Giles asked, removing his glasses to clean them. His brow was furrowed with confusion and Spike glared at the man.

"I wasn't bleedin' cursed," the vampire snapped. "I earned my soul."

"Why?" Buffy pressed.

Spike considered this for a moment. Earning his soul was the biggest turn around in his relationship with the slayer. If he explained everything now, he had no doubt he would harm his future chances with her. Sure, their relationship had been messed up and painful and ultimately doomed, but it had been real and he wouldn't change that for the world. No, he was certain that this time travel nonsense was a short time deal. He would say only what he needed to and either Willow would find a spell or Angel of the future would get him back. He just had to lay low, keep his mouth shut and enjoy the slayer's company whilst he could... even if he did get a few punches to the nose along the way.

"I'm not saying why," Spike answered calmly. "I'm not messing up the future. As soon as I go back, we'll hate each other again and things will carry on as before."

"Hate each other again? We don't hate each other in the future?" Buffy asked, her nose scrunching up in disbelief. "What whacko world do you come from?"

"Just forget I said anything," Spike sighed.

Buffy smiled overly sweetly, "Done."

Spike rolled his eyes, "Don't you have a mate to call? Get Red over here."

Buffy scowled at the vampire before going to the wall where Giles' phone hung. Without breaking eye contact with Spike, she picked up the phone and dialled the number she knew off by heart. After a short conversation, she confirmed Willow was on her way.

* * *

><p>It had been an awkward wait for Willow. The apartment had remained almost silent, everyone eyeing Spike warily as they waited for the witch to show. When the knock on the door finally came, everyone sighed with relief and Buffy rushed to the door, swinging it open enthusiastically.<p>

"Hey Will!" Buffy chimed. "Please come in and prove that Spike is crazy so I can stake him and we can get on with our lives."

Willow nodded and held up the tote bag in her hand. "I bring witchy goodness. I'll have that bird singing in no time."

The red head put on her best threatening face as she scowled at the vampire, who in return just looked at her with disinterest. She pouted at her lack of impact on Spike and emptied her spell ingredients onto the kitchen counter. Xander, Giles and Buffy gathered around to look.

"Ooo pretty," Buffy said, prodding a purple crystal. "What does it do?"

Willow smiled excitedly, "Well, when I've mixed the ingredients together and said the spell, the crystal can sense where a soul is present. It should glow a bright green."

"Nifty. So what happens if Captain Peroxide is telling the truth?" Xander asked.

Willow looked nervously at Giles, who in turn removed his glasses yet again, "Unfortunately, time travel is a rare and extremely dangerous occurrence."

Up until this point, Spike had pretty much tuned out the little Scooby meeting, but the tone of Rupert's voice had caught his attention.

"That doesn't sound good," Spike grumbled. "You _can _get me back?"

"I can try," Willow said uncertainly, "But I'm no way near advanced enough. It could take me weeks, maybe months if ever."

"Oh bloody hell," Spike groaned. "Bloody knew Wesley using that soddin' great gun on Blue was a bad idea."

"Wesley?" Giles asked, suddenly curious. "You mean to say he's an ally of yours in the future?"

"Oh come on!" Buffy interrupted, "Do you really think Spike is telling the truth? This _is _Spike for goodness sake."

Xander nodded, "Buffster has a point."

"Indeed," Giles concurred, "Let's perform this spell and we'll worry about the specifics after."

"There are going to be a lot of red faces in here when you find out good Ol' Spikey here is telling the truth," Spike commented from his chair.

"Shut up Spike," Buffy snapped.

Spike chuckled to himself. Good old times.

Whilst Willow got busy preparing the ingredients she had brought, Spike began to let his mind wander and question his predicament. What if Angel couldn't get him back to his time? What if something happened to Illyria and Red didn't have the power to send him back? Would he have to relive everything? Would that be a bad thing? He could save a lot of lives – lives that had meant something to him. Anya, Tara and Joyce. Maybe they were destined to die, but maybe not. Maybe he was sent back on purpose. Or maybe this was the best mistake to ever happen to him. Maybe he could do things right with Buffy.

There were too many maybes.

"I think I was sent here for a reason," Spike suddenly announced, momentarily interrupting the Latin that Willow was chanting. Deep down, Spike believed he was lying. It was far more likely that he was simply a consequence of Illyria's powers going wonky, but who was to say he couldn't use that to his advantage, at least until something or someone sent him back – if they ever did.

"Right, like some kind of higher purpose? Come on Spike , who are you kidding? We all know this is an elaborate escape plan that in about five minutes is going to blow up in your face," Buffy said.

Spike opened his mouth to retort when the lights inside the apartment started flickering and a gentle breeze began to whirl around Willow. She had stopped chanting, but her focus was intense on the crystal and she was oblivious to anything around her. The others looked at her with worry, but Spike made a mental note to curb her use of magic, should he be there long enough. Suddenly, the crystal she had shown Buffy earlier, which had remained lifeless and dormant on the kitchen counter, shot into the air. Willow shouted one last thing in Latin and the crystal glowed an intense white, before hovering over each person one at a time, morphing to a different shade of green depending on the individual. Then, it hovered over the counter again, as though indecisive of where to go next.

Buffy smirked, "See Spike, your plan failed, you clearly don't have a –"

The crystal shot towards Spike so fast the vampire almost toppled backwards on his chair as he tried to flinch away. The crystal moved around him slowly, still glowing a neutral white and seemingly checking him out, hovering closer and then further away like a nervous humming bird. It finally settled in front of his chest, where his heart should be and it began to glow. The others watched in fascination, each holding back a gasp as the crystal turned green.

"Oh my god," Buffy gasped. "It can't be."

Suddenly, the crystal started to become so blindingly green, Spike had to look away and then the others did too. It grew too bright to look at and then, as if overloaded with energy, it shattered before Spike, blowing out all the light bulbs in the house simultaneously.

"I think we should listen to what Spike has to say now," Buffy finally said, her voice barely above a whisper.

* * *

><p>"So you're not going to tell us anything? Not even a lottery number?" Buffy whined.<p>

Spike was still firmly attached to his chair, although in honesty, he was pretty sure he could break the bonds if need be. He was a lot stronger than he was when he had originally been taken hostage. Giles' apartment was lit up with the warm glow of endless candles after Willow's crystal had blown out all the electricity. Buffy was looking at Spike with an intense fascination that he found adorable and a little unsettling. It was going to be difficult balancing what he could and couldn't tell her.

"Sorry luv, it's for your own good. Just going to have to trust me on this one."

"Wow, trust and Spike. Now those are two words I never thought would be in the same sentence," she replied.

"I must say," Giles began, "I'm still rather perplexed about how you came to acquire your soul."

Spike smirked, "Sorry Rupes. That story is definitely off limits."

Giles nodded regretfully.

"Well gang, I promised I'd take Anya for dinner so," Xander stood and pointed his thumb towards the door.

"Yeah I need to shoot too Buffy, but call if you need anything," Willow added with a genuine smile.

"Thanks guys, I'll call you in the morning."

"Night Buff."

The two friends left into the night, leaving Buffy sitting opposite Spike and Giles sitting at his desk, engrossed in book upon book, trying to find something useful on the predicament.

"You know, you could untie a fellow," Spike said hopefully.

Buffy bit her bottom lip, obviously considering it, and glanced behind Spike to Giles, who was oblivious and flipping through the thickest volume yet.

"No offense Spike," Buffy started, "But I still don't trust you."

Spike shrugged knowingly. He couldn't blame the girl.

"S'alright Buffy," he said genuinely.

They fell into silence and Buffy picked at the edges of her fingernails, watching white nail polish fall to the floor by her feet. She was trying to come to terms that the evil blood sucking fiend she had taken hostage a couple of days ago, was now a soul owning ally from the future. Buffy's head was swimming. It was strange because if she sat there and really concentrated, she knew that the vampire had a totally different vibe and the danger signals she usually felt around him were completely gone. Could Spike really be a good guy?

"So, I'm guessing we work together in the future," she finally said, not quite looking at him.

Spike watched her curiously. If there was one thing he was absolutely not going to cock up, it was his relationship with Buffy. He also didn't want to influence her too greatly. If he was going to get the chance to put things right, he was going to let it happen at its own pace. "Yeah, something like that. We get on okay."

"That's weird," she says automatically, frowning at her hands.

Spike chuckled, "You don't know the half of it."

Buffy looked up to say something, when she noticed behind Spike, Giles has nodded off and was face down in a dusty volume, a glass of whisky in his free hand. She smiled fondly, quietly rose and took the glasses off his face without him even stirring. Spike turned his head just enough that he could watch out of the corner of his eye. Buffy gently removed the glass from the man's hand and left him to sleep on his book.

"You should sleep too you know, luv," Spike said with genuine worry.

Buffy froze on the spot, completely taken aback by the concern in the vampire's voice.

"You're being nice to me," she said slowly. "I don't think I'm going to get used to this."

"This is no picnic for me either pet," Spike replied honestly. "Not sure how much I should tell you or how I should act around you. I could be sent back at any moment. I could have all ready made a right royal mess of everything, but I guess I'll just have to take a risk. You _can _trust me Buffy. "

They shared a small smile. Something told Buffy she _could _trust this version of Spike. Maybe it was the security of knowing he had a soul, but mostly it was the way he looked at her. It made her uncomfortable from its intensity and she could tell he had no idea he was doing it, but it spoke volumes. This Spike cared about her, it was obvious on his face and the way he spoke. He just seemed to _know _her. It was creepy really.

"I hope I don't regret this, but I'm going to untie you Spike," Buffy said in a serious tone, approaching him carefully. "Any funny business and its back to the chair again."

"Yes ma'am!"

Buffy rolled her eyes and knelt in front of Spike, quickly untying his restraints and keeping her focus on his face, waiting to see if his expression would shift and he'd try and catch her off guard. Soul or no soul, Spike was the master of deception. When the ropes fell loose and the only move Spike made was to rub his sore wrists, Buffy took a step back.

An awkward silence fell over the pair, neither really knowing what should be done next. Buffy began to fidget and Spike smirked at her knowingly, catching a glimpse at the time on the wall. The woman doesn't need sleep.

"How about we go out and kill some nasties," Spike offered. "And I'll show you a trick or two I picked up over time."

"You want to patrol with me?" she asked, quirking an eyebrow.

Spike simply looked back at her, "Or we could stand here awkwardly all night?"

"Let's go kill things!"

And with that, Buffy grabbed her jacket and the pair headed out into the night.

**TBC...**

**AN:** So, I hope you liked this chapter? It was really hard! Feedback would be amazing. I think from now on the flow of this will be better and updates will not only improve, but become more regular. I like the concept of this story and hoping it's a bit different from others...


	3. Chapter 3

**AN:** Another update already? Wow... hehe. Hope you enjoy. I loved your reviews, keep them coming! And to answer if will we see more of future Angel yet, that's still undecided... for now I think we'll have fun in season four. Enjoy!

**Time Bomb**

**By Secret Slayer**

**Chapter Three**

"He was..." Buffy paused, her eyes widening with awe. "Amazing."

Giles shifted uncomfortably, frowning at the slayer on his sofa. It had been a shock to wake in the early hours of the morning to an empty apartment and, more importantly, an empty chair where only loose ropes draped over the arms. His immediate response was to call Buffy, to warn her that Spike had escaped, which she had groggily responded to. Apparently, she had taken the vampire on patrol and then allowed him to sleep on her sofa, which to Giles' frustration, was where the vampire remained.

"Well Buffy, I can only imagine he has some interesting and new fighting techniques..."

"Giles, I've never seen anyone move like that," Buffy quickly said. She stood from her seat, suddenly remembering the buzz she had felt last night. "And there was this one moment, when we were surrounded and we just moved together like we'd been doing it for years. I've never had a partner-"

"A partner? Now Buffy, let's not forget who we're talking about. He's not Angel," Giles admonished, his face contorted in a fatherly scowl.

The mention of Angel instantly changed Buffy's mood. "I'm well aware of that Giles," she snapped, her face turning a shade pinker from anger. "I'm just saying, _this _Spike is totally different to the one we knew and loathed. I think I could learn a lot from him."

Giles pursed his lips, "Very well, but Buffy I only say this because I care for you like I would a daughter. Please don't allow yourself to get attached to another vampire. That path only leads to heartbreak."

Buffy scoffed, "Please Giles, the guy might sport some wicked new moves but it is still Spike."

With that, Buffy grabbed her jacket and headed to the door. She stopped briefly, turning to smile kindly at the older man, who looked at her with equal fondness.

"Trust me Giles," and with that she left.

Giles simply stared at the closed door, a deeply unsettling feeling forming in the pit of his stomach.

* * *

><p>Spike had been disappointed to find out Joyce was away for the weekend. He had missed the lady and hoped to spend some time with her, even if only for a short while. After all, he still didn't know if he was going to suddenly pop back to Wolfram and Hart at any moment, even if his gut told him those chances were pretty unlikely.<p>

He hadn't really slept and when the phone had rung in the early hours, he wasn't at all surprised to hear Giles' worried tone on the other end of the line. Dutifully, Buffy had gotten herself out of bed and whilst he pretended to be asleep, he could feel her linger as she watched him, before heading out into the sunny morning.

That had been over an ago. Spike was well aware of the influence this Giles had on this Buffy. He had no doubts that if Giles decided Spike untrustworthy, this Buffy wouldn't be shutting any doors in the older man's face. He hated to admit it, but the longer Buffy was away, the more nervous he became. He didn't want to mess things up with the slayer already. Love's bitch and all that, it was always about the girl.

And last night had been glorious. It had started with a simple staking of a vampire and he had shown the slayer a couple of tricks he knew she'd like – one's he had picked up in LA after Sunnydale. Although she had been wary at first, her love for the fight soon had her guard down and to his delight, she watched him with fascination.

But then the fun had really started.

A group of a dozen vampires had cornered them from all angles. He could hear the way Buffy's heart quickened pace. She wasn't as confident as she was before the battle with the First.

A vampire made the first move and wordlessly the blonde duo had fallen in step, fighting side by side, dancing with deadly blows beneath the moonlight. Of course, Spike could see he was the reason they never lost the upper hand. This Buffy was strong, but she lacked the finesse and strength he had remembered in those last few months. He didn't tell her that of course – she was enjoying herself. Smiling wickedly and throwing witty puns and punches like she had always done. At one point, Spike had bumped into her hard enough to almost knock her over, after being swung around by a particularly burly vampire.

In that moment, he realised that he didn't have a chip like before and from the lack of scars on his skin, he knew he was definitely in his past body. (The fight with the First had left some battle wounds he'd sport for centuries.) So he could only assume that time travel either fried it or removed it somehow. Strange how he still kept his soul though. Maybe The Powers That Be were involved?

He wasn't one to dwell on technicalities.

At least he wouldn't have to relive the ordeal of it malfunctioning and Buffy deciding to remove it. He was just grateful that if Buffy had noticed his slip up, she didn't seem to care.

And then all that was left was dust and a panting slayer.

"That was incredible," she had said. "How did you learn to do that?"

Spike had shrugged, looking at the ring of dusty remains around them. "I can show you sometime, you know, if I'm not yanked back to the future."

Buffy hadn't replied, suddenly seeming cautious as though she had already said or opened up too much to the vampire. He was used to it. Buffy and her bloody barriers!

To his surprise, she had insisted that he sleep on her couch. Apparently so she could keep an eye on him and to give Giles a break. He knew deep down it was because she thrived on danger and excitement and unintentionally, he was delivering everything she wanted on a plate. He was safe because he had a soul. He was dangerous because he was unknown. She was more than ready to take advantage of that.

Spike was snapped out of his thinking by the sound of the door opening. He sat up on the sofa to see Buffy creep in, dressed in a lilac skirt and white blouse, her long golden hair pulled into a high ponytail. He quirked an eyebrow at the little sandals she was wearing – not exactly shoes of a warrior. Oh, how she'd change in the months to come.

"Oh you're awake," Buffy said, hanging her bag on the coat rack by the door. "Are future vamps not nocturnal anymore?"

"Couldn't sleep pet, too much to think about," he said, sitting awkwardly on the sofa, not really sure how exactly he was supposed to behave. He was neither friends nor enemies with this Buffy at this point, where the bloody hell did that leave him?

Buffy smiled, holding back a giggle. "Wow, a Spike that thinks."

The vampire gave his best glare in her direction and she held her hands up in mock surrender, "Sorry, my bad. Still not used to all this."

A few moments of silence ticked by, before they both felt equally uncomfortable. Buffy began to regret inviting him home. What exactly had she hoped for? That he'd confess everything about the future just because she'd offered him a comfy couch to sleep on. And it wasn't like he was hiding things from her to harm her, or so he would have her believe.

"I have blood," she suddenly blurted out. "In my fridge," she clarified.

"Sounds like a plan," Spike said and stood from the couch, moving past Buffy fluidly.

He didn't think about moving around her house, after all, he had practically lived there in the past. So when he opened the fridge and took out a mug, helping himself and warming it up in the microwave, he was met by a surprised slayer, arms folded and both eyebrows sky high.

"You know your way around," she commented.

He sipped his blood and shrugged, "Like I said before, we get on okay in the future."

"At what point exactly, do you stop becoming a pain in my ass?" Buffy asked, watching him cautiously.

Spike smirked and shook his head with a chuckle, "Now I never said I stopped being that."

Buffy relaxed and laughed, "Well, at least the future isn't totally screwed up."

"I don't think I'm going to get back Buffy," Spike said seriously, placing his mug on the kitchen surface. "What does that mean?"

Buffy frowned and bit her bottom lip, thinking. She looked to him and shrugged, "Well, it means that as long as you are here and not a threat, we can work together, maybe like we do in the future. You have a soul Spike; you're not my enemy anymore."

Spike smiled warmly, before a thought occurred to him. "Right, but if I do get sent back, there are certain events I'd like to put a stop to. You got a pen and paper luv? And an envelope?"

Buffy looked around, "I'm sure mom has some somewhere. Wait there."

Not long after, Buffy returned with the required stationary. Spike took them and frantically wrote down all the things he wanted to prevent that wouldn't cause any nasty consequences. Once he had finished, he folded the paper, put it in the envelope and sealed it. He slid it across the counter towards Buffy.

"That's everything you need to know," he said, but when she went to take it, he quickly spoke up. "Only open it if I leave. You don't need to know all that unless you have to."

"Gee Spike, ominous much?"

"Just doing what I have to pet."

"I find serious Spike wiggy, feel free to insult me at any time," Buffy chided with humour in her voice.

Spike opened his mouth to do exactly that when the phone started ringing. Buffy frowned, not expecting the call. Without a word, she disappeared into the lounge to grab the phone and speak privately, but Spike could make out Willow's tone on the other side, even if he couldn't quite catch the conversation. A few minutes later, Buffy returned.

"That was Willow. She's having a hard time with Oz leaving. But I guess you already know all this, having lived it before," Buffy smiled slightly, feeling silly for sharing old news with the future vampire.

Spike shrugged, "You should go and see Red. Help her out."

"It's fine. I need to be here to ..."

"Make sure I'm not evil?"

Buffy looked at him guiltily before continuing, "Well yeah. It's okay, she's going to see Xander. She did sound kind of pissed that I'm not seeing her though. I did the right thing, didn't I?"

Was Buffy asking him for advice? Spike frowned and so did Buffy, clearly confused by her own words. Spike looked at the slayer and wandered what he should say; he had a nagging feeling that Buffy should see Willow. An old memory tugging at the back of his brain, but it was foggy and the closeness of the slayer was making that even foggier. He wanted her to himself. Soul or no soul, he would always be a selfish bastard. It was part of his charm.

"You did the right thing," Spike said quickly. His outburst made Buffy jump. "I could be sent back and evil me could be wandering around your house looking at your dainties. Best thing to keep an eye on me, just in case."

It wasn't a complete lie.

Buffy nodded righteously. "You're right McFly. She'll just have to deal."

Spike nodded with equal enthusiasm, burying the doubt to a place very dark and deep.

"So Slayer, what are we doing today?" he asked cheerfully, sitting atop the kitchen counter as he had done many times when visiting her mother before she was too ill.

"Erm, I hadn't really thought that through..." she admitted.

"How about we train?" Spike offered.

If he was going to be sent home, he wanted to teach Buffy as much as possible before that happened. Maybe she would stand a better chance against Glory. That, and he missed being close to her, the smell of her hair, the sound of her heart, the...

"Hey, earth to Blondie," Buffy clicked her fingers in front of his face. When did she get that close? "I said okay."

"Right then, get your sweats on pet. This won't be like one of those namby pamby sessions you have with the old man," Spike said confidently.

Buffy gulped audibly, before rising to the challenge. "Bring it on."

Spike smirked, "You sure you've got the stones to take me on?"

"Oh, I've got plenty of stones. I've got ... a whole bunch of stones," she retorted, then turned to get changed, but paused before she was out of sight. "I know your chip isn't working Spike. You shoved me pretty hard last night. You try anything, I will kill you. Soul or not."

"Yeah? You're all talk Slayer," Spike replied, but his tone was reserved, respecting her threat as empty as he knew it was. She couldn't kill him without a soul; she sure as hell wouldn't do it now. Not that he planned anything remotely devious of course.

She glared at him briefly and then left to change.

* * *

><p>Sparring had been a brilliant plan, except Buffy's house wasn't really equipped to deal with two super strengthened beings throwing each other around. Naturally, Buffy had suggested they take it to the basement after breaking one of her mother's vases.<p>

Spike was thrown into the wall, leaving a decent sized crack in it. Buffy cringed.

"My mother's going to kill me," she groaned.

Spike jumped up and in the process shrugged his duster off, bouncing on his feet like a boxer. He shook out his shoulders, relaxing his muscles and for a moment his eyes flashed yellow, only goading Buffy more. She brought her fists up, smirking wickedly at him and in that moment, he wished to all that was unholy, that he wouldn't be sent back to his time. He missed dancing with the slayer.

"Come on vampire, is that all you've got? Thought this was supposed to teach me something?"

"I'm not even warmed up yet," he said, charging at her and grabbing her around the waist, lifting her over his shoulder.

Buffy yelped, but reached and pulled his hair. He growled, but it gave her the chance to wiggle free, sliding out of his grip, landing on her hands and somersaulting upright. They were back to a face off.

"I underestimated you luv," Spike drawled.

Buffy shrugged a shoulder nonchalantly, "You always were pretty slow."

Spike took the bait and they charged back at each other simultaneously. When Spike reached out to grab her shoulders, he had fully intended on flipping her over his shoulder again and knocking the wind out of her to teach her a lesson in over confidence. But something... changed. As his hands touched her skin an electric spark ran through him and from the slayer's wide eyes, he knew it had happened to her too. He tried to focus on the fight, but his love for her became overpowering, more so than normal and then everything seemed to melt away except from Buffy. As though a magnetic force was pulling him down, he landed on one knee, removing the ring from his finger without thought.

Buffy's eyes lit up with joy and nothing seemed more right to him at that exact moment.

"Buffy, will you marry me?"

Buffy swooned, resting her hand gently against his face. "It's just so sudden. I don't know what to say."

"Just say yes, and make me the happiest man on earth," Spike replied automatically. Hadn't he said those words before? Why was he saying them anyway?

"Oh Spike, of course it's a yes!"

Spike beamed. He slid the skull ring on her finger and stood, letting the force of whatever was controlling him take Buffy into his arms and kiss her breathless.

Even through the veil of magic, he acknowledged this was probably what that nagging feeling earlier about Willow had been.

_Sod it, I'm going to marry the slayer._

_**TBC...**_

**AN:** What did you think? I hope you liked my Something Blue surprise... Please review and maybe there'll be another update tomorrow :) Hope you enjoyed!


	4. Chapter 4

**AN:** Hey guys! Thank you so much for your reviews, they've been great! Please keep them coming, they make me update faster. Please enjoy! This was tricky to write, so I'd really appreciate the feedback.

**Time Bomb**

**By Secret Slayer**

**Chapter Four**

"It has to be a spell – some kind of illusion."

Angel nodded. He leant forward on his big leather chair and rested his elbows on his desk. This was an impossible situation. Wesley sat in the chair opposite him, whilst Lorne lingered towards the back of the office by the door, making sure they weren't disturbed. The green demon smiled fondly, catching a peak of Fred and Cordelia chatting in the lobby through the crack in the door.

"I think you're right," Angel sighed and then laughed bitterly. "We get the women we love back _and _Spike leaves. Too good to be true."

"It feels so real though," Wesley countered, beginning to doubt his own prognosis of the situation. "And even if it is a spell, to see Fred again..."

The British man trailed off sadly. "I know Wes. I never thought I'd get a second chance with Cordelia or my son."

"What if it isn't a spell?" Lorne piped in, momentarily leaving his post to stand closer to the others.

Wesley frowned, "We are forgetting that Spike must have some part to play in this. Didn't Cordelia mention he was with..."

"Buffy," Angel grumbled.

"Perhaps it would be best to contact her and see if the Spike she is with knows anything."

Angel nodded and reached forward for the phone, ringing Revello Drive. He never thought he'd be dialling that number again. It was supposed to be a giant crater in the ground.

"Hello?"

"Uh Joyce? It's good to hear your voice."

"Oh hello Angel.. well thank you, but you were only here last week. I'm sure you can't have missed it that much," Joyce laughed sweetly, but Angel could still hear the resent she held against him in her tone. "Can I help you dear?"

"Is Buffy home?"

There was a short silence and Angel wondered what he had said wrong, but Joyce started speaking before he could say anything else. "I would assume so, but I think the best thing to do would be to ring _her _home. Angel is everything okay? This seems a little strange."

Angel laughed nervously. "Everything's fine Joyce. I err, I don't suppose you have her number? I must have lost it..."

Lorne and Wesley watched as Angel scribbled down a number and then awkwardly said goodbye to the woman who had been dead for over two years. Without a word, Angel started dialling the new number.

"Come on Buffy, pick up..." Angel sighed, but it went through to answer machine.

"_Hi, you've reached Buffy and Spike, we're not home right now, please leave a message and..."_

Angel slammed the phone down. "We're going to Sunnydale."

* * *

><p>Giles wished he had never opened his door.<p>

After blinking several times to try and clear his increasingly blurring vision, he confirmed to his horror that what stood before him was not due to his bad vision at all, but in fact Spike and Buffy were indeed holding hands... willfully.

And getting married apparently.

Clearly the work of magic, he concluded with relief. Only that morning he had warned Buffy not to get too attached, but he very much doubted she would marry the vampire.

He had called Willow, asking for her help to resolve the issue, but she had yet to arrive. He mentally cursed the young red head when Buffy started yelling at Spike, who had become irritated at her mention of Angel. She turned the argument around, telling him her insecurities over Drusilla. It was all giving Giles a headache, which was only made worse by his deteriorating vision. He cringed when Buffy mentioned Spike making "sweet love" to her and decided he needed another sip of his scotch. As he reached forward, the limited vision he had suddenly went all together. His fingers brushed the glass, but he knocked it off the edge of the table.

"Giles, are you okay?" Buffy asked, pulling herself away from the vampire with great reluctance. Spike pouted at the loss of contact.

"I rather think not. I seem to be rather.. rather.. blind. Completely, in fact," he replied, frowning.

Buffy walked to Giles, concern etched all over her face. She gently put a hand on the older man's shoulder.

"What? How could this happen?" she asked.

She waved her other hand in front of Giles' face, but he didn't respond in the slightest. Buffy swallowed the lump in her throat.

"A spell, I believe," Giles said, staring blankly ahead.

"Oh bollocks."

Buffy turned to Spike, who was still sitting on the chair in the corner of the living room. He was leaning forward, head in his hands.

"What's the matter honey?" she asked sweetly, walking back to the bleach blonde and began to soothingly stroke the back of his head, twirling a lock of curly bleached hair around her finger.

"I remember now," he said thoughtfully, still trying to fit the pieces together and then his head snapped up as the realization hit him. So that was the nagging feeling he had had. "Willow!"

Buffy frowned, "What about Willow? Is she in trouble?"

"No luv, Red did a spell. Told your chum Xander she thought we should get married..."

"And that I didn't see anything," Giles added.

"Right and any minute, Xander and Anya are going to –"

As if on cue, the couple crashed through the front door, panting heavily. Xander quickly pulled a bookshelf in front of the door.

"Board up the windows, and barricade the doors," he yelled.

Giles stood shakily, "What on earth is going on?"

"Demons," Anya answered. "They keep coming and coming."

Spike nodded knowingly, "Because Xander's a demon magnet."

Xander frowned, "Hey, that's what Will said to me earlier." Then his eyes went wide with panic, "Wait, why aren't you tied to your chair?!"

"And why are you holding hands?" Anya asked, raising an eyebrow at the blonde couple.

It occurred to Spike, as Buffy clung to his arm and looked up at him with adoration, that the mystic fog that had shrouded his thinking had dissipated almost immediately. He no longer had the overwhelming urge to marry the slayer. In fact, the whole thing seemed rather daft now he could think clearly. Vampires didn't get married and this Buffy certainly wouldn't entertain that notion. Remembering that he was under a spell must have broken it's control over him. He should have told the slayer that there and then and tried to keep her at arm's length to relieve the humiliation she would feel when the spell was broken. But when Buffy turned to her friends and was about to excitedly announce their engagement, Spike only had one thought.

He was really enjoying having Buffy on his arm and he'd only ever really seen her look at him like that in their final days in Sunnydale. Decision made. Nobody needed to necessarily know the spell had broken. He could enjoy the slayer's affections that little bit longer. After all, it wasn't hard for him to return those loving looks; he _was _in love with her. What Buffy didn't know, didn't hurt.

"Spike and I are getting married!" Buffy squealed.

Xander's jaw dropped, "How? What? How?"

"I'm afraid Willow has done a spell," Giles replied tiredly.

"And you both were affected. I probably only escaped because I'm the Slayer. Some kind of natural immunity." Buffy turned to Spike, who falsely nodded in agreement.

"Yeah. Right. You're marrying Spike because you're so right for each other," Xander retorted.

"Xander," Buffy scolded.

Spike smirked, enjoying Buffy standing up for him, even if it was spell induced. He turned to Xander with a glare.

"That's it – you're off the usher list," the vampire announced smugly.

"People, Willow is out there and she probably doesn't know what she's doing," Giles stood from the couch, blindly reaching out to feel his way around it.

"We gotta find her," Xander said.

Buffy nodded, already heading for the door, "Before somebody gets really hurt."

_Thump. _Giles misjudged the amount of space around him and landed face down on the other side of the sofa. Spike bit back a laugh, reminding himself he should be under a spell and that Buffy wouldn't approve of his laughing at her father figure.

When Buffy opened the door, she was met with a demon almost twice her height and dripping in green, mucus-like gloop. She quickly shut the door in its face and backed up against it as the demon pounded heavily on the wood. Spike frowned. Demons hadn't come to the house last time. Perhaps they'd spent more time here than before and they'd had a chance to catch up with them. The sound of scraping at the window confirmed more monsters had joined the party.

"We're trapped," Xander said.

"How are we going to help Willow?" Buffy asked, digging her heels into the carpet as various creatures tried to push their way in. "Spike, honey, a little help?"

Spike leapt to Buffy's side, his heart swelling at the tone of her voice when she asked for his help. He backed up against the door with her, taking the opportunity to lace her fingers with his. A flash back of fire creeping up his arm and a crumbling Hellmouth almost had him flinching away, but when she squeezed his hand, he smiled at her reassuringly. "We don't need to help her. D'Hoffryn is going to make her an offer to be a vengeance demon and she'll turn him down. She'll pop up here any minute and break the spell."

* * *

><p>Any minute had been wishful thinking.<p>

The amount of demons had become too much to barricade out, even for the slayer and vampire. Three demons had managed to get in the house and countless more were outside. Giles was in the far corner with a baseball bat, blindly swatting it towards a particularly foul smelling creature. He got in a couple of lucky hits, mostly because Anya was on the other side, whacking it with a frying pan, preventing its escape.

"Hey Dead Boy, I thought you said Willow was coming back!" Xander said, shortly before a red demon put him in a headlock.

Spike opened his mouth to retort, but another demon caught him off guard and barrelled into him from the side. He was knocked half way across the apartment. The vampire could have easily fought the demon off, but in that moment, there was a flash of lightening, missed by the others who were too preoccupied fighting. Willow stood in the corner and started a reversal spell. Spike knew his engagement to the slayer would be over soon, and he wanted Buffy to come to his rescue before the magic was broken.

"Spike!" Buffy ran to him, just like she had the first time.

He wanted one last kiss. After all, he might not get another in this timeline for years, if ever. Buffy grabbed the demon Spike had been half-heartedly wrestling by the neck and hurled it away. She worriedly looked down to him before lowering herself to his level and cradling his face. Spike felt fine, but he groaned as though he had been hurt to improve his chances of a kiss. Oh, he could be a diabolical fiend. And a bloody good actor.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

Spike smiled, "I am now."

Perfect. Buffy's eyes darkened with desire and she leant forward and kissed him, like before, and Spike returned it, pulling her as close as possible knowing it was only moments before the spell was broken.

Something was off.

He heard Willow stop chanting and felt the magic leave the room. The lack of grunting and yelling indicated the demons were gone and the fighting was over, but Buffy was still kissing him. Giles coughed loudly. Buffy stopped abruptly, looking down at Spike with wide eyes. She jumped off, but unlike before, didn't wipe her mouth with the back of her hand, she simply blushed and avoided eye contact with him.

Interesting.

"Hi guys," Willow waved sheepishly from the corner of the room.

* * *

><p>"Eat a cookie, ease my pain?"<p>

Buffy gave Willow a short glare, but then rolled her eyes, taking a cookie from the proffered plate.

"Mmm, better?"

Willow bit her lip pensively, "Well, baking lifts about 30% of my guilt, but only 7% of my inner turmoil. Guess that'll just take awhile."

"It'll happen," Buffy said. Spike moving by the couch caught her attention and she gently grabbed Willow by the arm, pulling her out of view. "Will, something weird happened when you broke the spell."

"Weird?"

"When I was kissing Spike... I could feel the spell break, but the way he was kissing me..." Buffy trailed off and looked around to make sure the vampire in question was out of ear shot, and then she lowered her voice. "I've never been kissed like that Will. It felt like he knew me. I – I think maybe, that's not the first time he's kissed me. The _real _me, not under-a-spell me."

Willow's eyebrows shot up in surprise, "You liked kissing Spike?!"

"Shhh! Gee Will, could you say that any louder?" Buffy narrowed her eyes at her friend and then shrugged, feigning nonchalance. "No, well maybe a little, but that's not the point. I think there's a lot that vampire isn't telling us."

"Like the fact you might be smooching buddies one day?"

At that moment, said vampire turned the corner, not realizing the women were standing there. He bumped into Buffy, who planted her hands on his chest and grabbed his T-shirt for support before she fell back. Instinctively, Spike wrapped his arms around her to stop her falling. They froze.

Buffy pulled away, adjusting her clothes awkwardly. Spike scratched the back of his neck.

"Sorry luv, didn't realise you were there," he mumbled.

"It's fine Spike," she replied, avoiding eye contact and the tingles running down her spine.

Willow looked between the pair, "I'm just going to ermm... stand over there."

She hurried away, much to Buffy's annoyance.

"Sorry I forgot to warn you about Red's spell before I got down on one knee," Spike said.

Buffy barely smiled, but finally made eye contact with him, which she immediately regretted. Memories of their kiss caused her cheeks to flush, but she retained eye contact to prove, mostly to herself, that their spell induced romance had no lasting hold on her. "It's cool. Apart from the fact we'll be mending Giles' apartment for the next month, no real harm done."

Spike nodded and assumed the silence that followed meant that Buffy had finished this conversation. A heaviness fell in his chest. He had kissed her with everything he was made of, trying to pour every ounce of love into that single moment. It had been too long since he'd been able to kiss her. A part of him was hoping, maybe stupidly, that if he kissed her that way, it would ignite a spark inside her that he was convinced deep down, she must have always felt for him. When the kiss had lingered after the spell was broken, it had given him hope, but now she seemed to be back to the same old Buffy. He turned to leave.

Buffy bit her bottom lip, "Spike?"

"Yeah luv?"

"That kiss..." she trailed off, trying to find the right words.

"I'm sorry about that Buffy." Spike looked at Buffy intensely, trying to figure out where she was going with this. Hope began to show it's ugly head again.

"Don't be," she replied quickly. Spike raised an eyebrow at her and she blushed, quickly back pedalling. "I mean, it wasn't your fault. We were under a spell."

Spike looked away guiltily, which luckily Buffy didn't notice. She was under the spell. He was taking advantage.

"It's just ..."

"What Buffy?"

She suddenly felt stupid for saying what she was about to say. The notion of her and Spike being "smooching buddies" in any timeline was utterly ridiculous, even if he did have a soul and better manners and was a damn sexy fighter...

"It's nothing, I'm just pleased the spell is over," she said.

Spike looked hurt for about half a second, which Buffy _did _notice, before he shrugged it off and put on his best bravado.

"Right, yeah. Me too," he said. "I need one of Red's cookies. I still have Buffy taste in my mouth."

"You're a pig, Spike," Buffy said with a glare and she pushed past him to join her friends in Giles' living room.

Spike chuckled, watching the flustered slayer hurry away. He had a feeling he wasn't the only one who was good at acting.

_**TBC...**_

**AN: **Oooo, we almost had a fluffy spuffy moment, but it's far too early for that! I really hope you guys enjoyed that chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it! And hey, we had a little bit of an insight into who will be in the new Spike-made future. Please leave a review!


	5. Chapter 5

**AN:** Thank you everyone for your lovely feedback so far! I hope the next instalment doesn't disappoint. Keep it coming and enjoy!

**Time Bomb**

**By Secret Slayer**

**Chapter Five**

Buffy was vaguely aware that she was dreaming.

Professor Walsh was talking about something Buffy couldn't quite understand. She was zoning in and out of focus, Riley, the TA, grabbing more of her attention than the professor. He was a nice guy and she liked him. He was wonderfully normal and simple and ... safe.

Buffy was disrupted from her staring when she heard her name. Professor Walsh had called her to the front for a demonstration. Buffy looked around in surprise. She hoped this demonstration hadn't required her to have any idea what the lecture was about. The slayer stood, smoothing down her blue top. She nervously glanced to Willow, who smiled gently, encouraging her to the front.

"A typical college girl," Walsh said. She turned to Buffy as she reached the front, "Lie down on my desk."

Buffy quirked an eyebrow and laughed awkwardly. She was painfully aware of everyone in the auditorium watching her. "What?"

A smile that should have been comforting, but somehow felt anything but, crossed Professor Walsh's face. "Go ahead, you're perfectly safe."

Buffy nodded meekly and then perched on the edge of the large wooden desk. She anxiously looked at her audience one last time, before taking a deep, steadying breath and lowering herself back on the desk until she rested on her elbows. She didn't trust the situation to lie back completely and leave herself vulnerable – vulnerable to what, she didn't know.

"Riley, if you could oblige," Walsh said.

"Don't think so luv."

Buffy's head snapped to the crowd. Spike sat behind Willow like he had been sitting there all along. He was slouched back comfortably, his feet resting on the back of her own unoccupied chair and his arms folded behind his head. Had he been there all along? The rest of the students began to whisper and Willow winked at Buffy. The slayer frowned at her friend, but her attention was pulled back to the vampire, who suddenly stood, his face angry and intense. For a moment, Buffy panicked, expecting him to vamp out, but he didn't.

Professor Walsh laughed and applauded the vampire with approval. "Are you volunteering Hostile 17?"

"Spike, what the hell are you doing here?" Buffy hisses.

The vampire looked confused, "I think I was sent here."

Buffy knew that he was alluding to more than his cameo in her dream. For the first time since the future vampire's arrival, she truly believed he had been sent to their time for a reason, no matter how accidental the circumstances appeared.

Professor Walsh sighed impatiently, nodding towards Buffy."Be a good boy then."

Spike glared at the woman and Buffy barely noticed Riley melt back into the shadows. A cold chill ran over the slayer. She felt anything but safe, but the vampire wasn't the danger – her sudden attraction to him was. Spike turned his head very slowly and deliberately to look into Buffy's eyes. She froze, shocked by the amount of emotion and depth behind them. She had always thought of his blue eyes to be icy and cold, the eyes of a killer, but that changed instantly. She had never felt so warm and, there was that word again, safe. Her attraction was no longer dangerous, it was enticing.

"Spike, what are you doing?" Her voice was almost a whisper.

He silently walked to her side. She watched him closely, her heart hammering in her chest. He was close enough that his unnecessary breaths were tickling the skin on her face. His hand reached out cautiously and Buffy noticed his fingers trembling as he gently placed a hand on her waist. She sensed his uncharacteristic vulnerability and she smiled at him, placing her own hand over his. He looked at her with shock and she reached up with her other hand to gently stroke his face. His eyes fluttered shut blissfully.

"This doesn't feel as strange as it should," Buffy said.

Spike leant forward, noticeably more confident and rested his forehead against hers. "Maybe it's not supposed to feel strange," his voice was husky.

When their lips met, Buffy felt the world around them disappear into a darkness they wouldn't return from and only they remained in the light. Buffy pulled away from the kiss, but kept her arm around him. She turned her head back to look towards the corridor where she could hear a girlish humming. She also noticed all of her classmates were gone and everywhere but where the desk was, was shrouded in shadow.

"I need to know what that noise is," Buffy said dreamily.

Spike nodded and wordlessly stood back. She swung her legs off of the edge of the desk and jumped down.

"Fortune favours the brave," she whispered as she headed towards the dark corridor. "Do you hear that?"

Spike chuckled and Buffy frowned at him. "I've heard it all before luv."

And then Spike was gone and Buffy was alone in the corridor, apart from a little girl at the far end. Buffy cocked her head to the side and noticed the little girl holding a wooden box with odd carvings on the surface. The little girl started to sing.

"Can't even shout, Can't even cry, the gentlemen are coming by, looking in windows, knocking on doors. They need to take seven, and they might take yours. Can't call to mom, can't say a word. You're gonna die screaming but you won't be heard."

She sensed Spike materialise behind her and he reached out to touch her, but when she turned to look at him, she was met with the wicked smiling face of a demon in a suit.

Buffy flinched awake.

"So I'll see you all Monday for a final review session," Professor Walsh announced.

Buffy looked to Willow guiltily. The red head was already packing her books into her bag. "Man that was an exciting class, huh? And the last twenty minutes was a revelation. It just laid out everything we need to know for the final. I'd hate to have missed that."

Buffy grabbed her books and hugged them to her chest. She rolled her eyes at her friend's teasing. "Just tell me I didn't snore."

Willow laughed, "Very discreet, minimal drool."

Buffy sighed with relief and they began to walk out of the classroom together. Buffy caught sight of Riley starting to follow them.

"So were you dreaming?" Willow asked.

Buffy nodded, blushing slightly as flashes of her dream encounter came to mind. "Yeah, it was kind of intense... and disturbing and ... all kinds of wrong."

Willow quirked an eyebrow at her friend and playfully jabbed Buffy in the side with her elbow. "Was their kissage?"

"Ah she looked too peaceful for that."

Buffy and Willow parted as Riley stepped between them, giving Buffy a goofy smile. Buffy felt a twinge of guilt as she thought back to the way Riley had been so easily dismissed in her dream. Why was Spike interrupting her sleep anyway? Stupid vampire.

"I actually need to see someone," Buffy said quickly.

She liked Riley. She liked him a lot, but that dream had meant something and she had a gut feeling the guy with the answers was currently sitting in her house, sipping hot cocoa with her mother.

"Oh, okay," Riley said. He looked like a kicked puppy.

"I'll catch you guys later."

Buffy swerved down another corridor and practically ran to the exit.

* * *

><p>"I will never get used to this."<p>

Buffy leant against the doorframe that separated her kitchen from the hallway. Joyce was leaning back against the fridge, a glass of something fizzy in her hands, whilst Spike sat on a stool around the island. A quick glance at the little marshmallows floating on top of the beverage told Buffy exactly what he was drinking.

"Oh Buffy, don't be dramatic," Joyce sighed.

Spike gave the slayer a pointed look, "You should listen to your mother, luv."

"Shut up Spike."

Buffy rolled her eyes and walked into the kitchen.

"To what do we owe this pleasure, pet?" Spike asked.

"I thought you had more classes," Joyce said with a frown, but then she smiled slyly. "Did you get a chance to talk to Riley?"

Spike snorted into his hot chocolate. Both women looked at him with raised eyebrows.

"Something you wanna share Spike?" Buffy asked impatiently, crossing her arms over her chest.

Spike squeezed his eyes shut. Oh, how easily it would be to keep soldier boy and Buffy separated, but that wasn't his decision to make. He wasn't going to manipulate the slayer. She needed to live her life and fall for him on her own, if indeed, that was ever going to happen. He could only hope.

"No. Nothing," he grumbled.

Buffy eyed him suspiciously, before she sat on the stool beside him and her mother poured her a drink and placed it before her. Buffy smiled gratefully and took a sip, before looking at the vampire who was slumped over his drink, suddenly looking very depressed and troubled. Maybe she was imagining it, but she could definitely sense jealousy and a hint of hurt at the mention of Riley.

Spike looked out of the corner of his eye. Why was she staring at him? Maybe he was making his inner turmoil a little too obvious. He needed to snap out of it. Brooding was his grandsire's hobby.

He straightened his shoulders and gulped down the last of his drink. Bufy was still watching so he turned to her.

"See something you like, pet?" he leered. His blue eyes brought back instant memories of her dream, of being engaged to him – of things that a slayer shouldn't remember.

Buffy glared at him, "You're a pig, Spike. Even with a soul."

"Buffy!" Joyce scolded. "Apologise to our guest."

"Mom, Spike isn't a guest... he's a ... well, he's... okay, so he is a guest, but I'm not apologising. He started it! What's wrong with Riley?"

Spike raised an eyebrow, surprised how bothered she seemed at his obvious disapproval of the man.

"He's evil."

"Really? I knew it! No one's that... polite."

Spike gave the slayer an exasperated look and Buffy blushed, realising he was messing with her.

"That's not funny," she chided.

Spike shrugged and stood from his stool. He walked over to the fridge, pouring himself out a pint of blood. Joyce casually handed him a box of Wheet-a-bix. Buffy's face scrunched up in disgust.

"Okay Mom, no more bonding with the vampire." Spike crumbled some of the food into his blood, "Ewww."

Spike rolled his eyes, retaking his seat by the island. Buffy suddenly remembered that this wasn't a social visit.

"I think something demonic is about to happen," she explained. "I had a dream about a box and there was this creepy guy with a serious dental problem."

There was instant recognition on the vampire's face and Buffy watched him expectantly.

"The gentlemen. Bugger." Spike slid off the stool and began pacing.

"How do I stop them? What do they want?"

"They steal voices and cut out hearts," Spike replied. He looked thoughtful, clearly trying to remember something. It was strange, he thought, how his memories seemed so much cloudier since arriving in the past. Perhaps it was his brain reminding him he didn't belong there. "Something to do with a fairytale. The princess, that would be you, needs to scream to break the spell. You also need to destroy the box."

Buffy nodded, "Right, where do I find the box?"

"I don't know."

"What do you mean, you don't know?"

Spike shrugged, scratching the back of his neck. "I wasn't there. I only know from what I overheard. I wasn't exactly trusted back then to be invited to your little Scooby meetings, unless they happened to be wherever you were tying me up at the time."

Buffy sighed, "Fine. I'll call Giles and see if he knows anything."

Silence fell over the kitchen and Joyce coughed awkwardly. "Well, I'm going to the gallery. You kids have fun."

Buffy's eyes went wide, "You're leaving us alone?"

Joyce laughed and Spike smirked at the slayer's discomfort around him. She had been skittish ever since the magical engagement. He took that as a good sign.

"I'm sure you'll be fine Buffy. Goodbye Spike."

"See you around Joyce." Once Joyce was out of sight, Spike clapped his hands together, making Buffy jump. His face lit up with an excited grin. "Fancy a bit of rough and tumble?"

"What?!"

"Training, luv," he clarified and then smirked, "Not sure where your minds at, but if you want..."

The vampire trailed off deliberately, loving the way Buffy blushed, but still gave him her best galre. It was almost deadly enough to stake him.

"A world of no Spike," Buffy said. "Our little magical engagement still gives me nightmares."

Okay, Buffy had to admit, she was having anything but nightmares recalling Willow's spell, but she wasn't willing to admit that to herself, let alone the cocky vampire before her.

"Of course," Spike replied, smirking at her knowingly.

Buffy glared back, "Oh, I'm so going to enjoy wiping that look off your face."

* * *

><p>"Don't let your guard down!"<p>

Buffy aimed a punch to his nose, but Spike swerved to the side easily. She launched her other fist at his face, but he ducked and span, moving behind her. Buffy brought up her elbow and managed to pull it back and land it on his jaw. He grunted and stumbled back a little. She used the short time to spin towards him, but he was ready for it. He blocked the following blows and Buffy groaned with frustration, upping her game. She grabbed him by the lapels and there was a brief moment when Spike wondered if she was going to kiss him – wishful thinking. She lifted him over her head and flipped him onto his back. She jumped on top of him, pulling out her stake, but he caught her wrist as she brought it down, using his strength to reverse their positions. He looked down at her and she went limp with exhaustion.

He stood and helped her up.

"I suck," she pouted. "How did you get that fast? And strong?"

Spike shrugged modestly, "You don't suck Buffy. You're the best fighter I know."

Buffy's smile beamed, "Really? Well, clearly I need more practice."

"You'll get there. S'all about experience."

Buffy nodded and grabbed her water bottle and towel. She dabbed her forehead. She had never been able to train with someone who could challenge her so much. She couldn't stop the smile twitching at her lips. It was fun! Her heart was pounding in her chest and her adrenaline was humming in her veins and even though she couldn't beat Spike, she could feel the instant benfits of training with him. She was already faster.

"This doesn't feel as strange as it should," Buffy suddenly said. "I feel like we've always done this."

Buffy briefly realised she had repeated her words from her dream and she looked away from the vampire, ignoring the memories of kissing him. Bad Buffy.

"What's that?"

"Me and you. Fighting. It's always felt more like..."

"Dancing?" Spike smirked.

Buffy smiled and nodded, "Exactly."

A genuine look of acceptance passed between them and Buffy ducked her head demurely.

"It's nice. Finally having someone I don't have to hold back with," Buffy admitted.

She felt guilty saying it, as though she was badmouthing the friends who had always supported her. Wait... friends... crap, Willow!

"What time is it?," she asked.

"I dunno, we've been down here for hours..."

"Hours?!"

"Well yeah... It's dark out. I'd say around ten, give or take an hour."

"Did you just use some weird vampire time-telling thing?"

"Yeah," Spike smiled with amusement, "That and there's a clock behind your head."

Buffy turned and saw the clock she had never noticed before. "Oh."

She slumped her shoulders. Willow wouldn't be awake now. How could they have been fighting for hours? Where had the time gone? She would have to make it up to her friend in the morning. A cupcake and some girl talk should do the trick.

"I might as well stay here tonight," Buffy sighed. "I'll head back in the morning and do some serious grovelling."

"She'll forgive you pet."

Buffy opened her mouth, but when she went to reply, nothing came out of her mouth. She tried again and Spike watched her as though she had lost her mind. He opened his mouth, but no noise came from him either. He tried once more, before he sighed.

Buffy mouthed, "What's going on?"

Spike looked around and his eyes lit up when he saw some paper and a pen abandonded on a crate at the far side of the basement. He strode over and scribbled down his response.

"We forgot to call Giles," it read. Buffy frowned. "The gentlemen are here."

_**TBC...**_

**AN: **Okay, so this story is tricky, because I want to put those crazy kids together already, but I know it's too early! I think there are enough repressed feelings and blossoming friendships to keep us going for now though, right? Hope you enjoyed... I'm excited to write the next chapter as obviously dialogue will be sparse... so how else will Buffy and Spike communicate? Hmm... Please review, I hope you liked... thanks for reading!


	6. Chapter 6

**AN:** Hey guys. Sorry for the delay in update, have been mega busy. I get the feeling the previous chapter was too long... so I'm going to shorten them a little from now on, perhaps break them up into two parts. I hope you enjoy the next chapter; I've been excited to write it. I thought this might be a fun time to be Buffy's Brain for a while too... to make up for the lack of dialogue. Please review, they keep the updates coming!

**Time Bomb**

**By Secret Slayer**

**Chapter Six**

I wasn't expecting Spike to freak out.

Angrily, he crumpled the paper into a tight ball and threw it towards some cardboard boxes that hadn't been unpacked since we moved to Sunnydale. It disturbed the thick layer of dust that had settled on top and I coughed silently and swatted the grime away. His heavy, black boots stomped back and forth across the concrete floor as he paced, with his hands on his hips and a scowl firmly in place. I opened my mouth to ask what the hell had gotten him so irritated, but my throat constricted slightly and I was reminded of our little speaking problem.

I crossed my arms, feeling my own frustration building up inside. My foot tapped impatiently and the gentle beat of my shoe against the hard surface beneath, seemed to grab the vampire's attention. Spike stopped pacing and just when I was about to silently yell at him for being Mr Grouchy, he looked at me and my heart dropped straight out of my chest.

He was disappointed.

He was disappointed with himself.

My annoyance melted completely and I took a step towards him, gently putting my hand on his elbow. I don't know why I felt so comfortable consoling this Spike. Only a few days ago I had hated him. Heck, he had hated me even more, but the way this Spike looked at me, moved around me, seemed to _know _me, made me so at ease around him and I hated that. I was letting him in too quickly. I was happy to accept him too quickly.

Spike tensed beneath my fingertips and I looked at his face, surprised to see a mask of confusion. Clearly, he hadn't expected a gentle gesture in return for his failure. I guess he didn't deserve it, if this was normal Spike, I would have punched him in the nose. He was in the know after all and he'd let me forget about the approaching danger. I was a little pissed about that and I was about to tell him so, but he opened his mouth before I could.

"I'm sorry," he mouthed and I sighed. "I'm an idiot."

I shrugged and nodded in agreement, "Yeah you are."

And he laughed and even though no sound came out, I heard it loud and clear and couldn't stop the warm smile spread across my face.

* * *

><p>Stupidly, I'd tried to call Giles, only to get a dubious look from Spike and I'd childishly stuck my tongue out at him. Giles hadn't picked up the phone anyway. He was either asleep or busy with his girlfriend... that thought was enough to make me shudder. It was also enough to make me wait to contact him until morning. It was late and I was tired. If I hadn't spent the best part of the afternoon sparring with Spike, I would have patrolled, but my limps were achy and my eyes were feeling heavy.<p>

We'd ditched the basement and headed back to the kitchen, where Spike was absently watching a mug of pig's blood rotate around the microwave. I think he had been too caught up in his thoughts to notice my arrival and I stood in the frame of the door for a while.

He was leaning back against the island, facing the microwave so I couldn't see his face, but only the taught muscles beneath his tight fitting t-shirt, allowing me the chance to watch him unnoticed.

Because I seriously felt the need to watch him.

It was strange. The whole situation was. Future Spike was a soul having, good guy who happened to fight alongside me, be my friend and possibly... more. I swallowed hard. Who was I kidding? There was no possibly about it. I remembered the kiss we shared because of Willow's spell and I can deny it all I like to the others, but the way he kissed me was out of this world. He knew exactly what I liked. I knew the spell had broken, but I let myself stay there and kiss him because I hadn't felt that alive in, well, ever. I should be disgusted with myself.

But I'm not. I'm horribly curious.

The microwave beeped and his movement snapped me back to reality. He casually retrieved his dinner (eww) and turned to face me, his eyes widening slightly as he realised I'm there, and then he did that thing that makes my curiosity uncontrollable. He smiled at me like I was the only good thing in the universe.

Spike doesn't smile. He smirks or leers or does something obscene with his tongue and his teeth and certainly doesn't smile at me.

But future Spike does.

Why was that? Did Spike... have feelings for me? Why am I not freaking out? Ugh, I know why, even as I question it. I felt a knot form in my stomach as I thought back to our sparring, the way we had moved together, even if he did have the upper hand.

I was attracted to this Spike. It was nauseating to admit it, but it was true. This Spike had a style and confidence I had never seen before, but above all else, he filled a gap in my life I hadn't realised I was missing. He made Riley seem like a ridiculous notion.

He eyed me cautiously as I approached and I'm not sure where the bravado came from, but I took the mug from his hand and placed it on the counter not-too-carefully. He frowned at the drop of blood that splashed over the edge and onto the counter.

With nothing else to distract him, I decided to try something. It was stupid and I'm not sure how I thought it would answer anything, but I did it because I couldn't stop myself. His hands were now free and I gently took one in my own. His eyes were dark and his brow knotted in confusion as I laced my fingers through his.

They were icy cold, being dead and all, and his skin was rough from over a century of fighting and living ... um unliving. I didn't dare look at his face because I didn't want to doubt what I was doing and feel stupid. I was trying to feel to understand - to get my answers, when magic had taken away my ability to ask for them verbally.

When his fingers gently gripped to mine, I felt a rush of electricity run straight up my arm; make my heart thump twice as hard and every instinct in my body flee. I had already expected it, but when the answer suddenly presented itself clear as day, my mouth went dry and the world turned a little fuzzy around me.

Spike did feel something for me. I don't know how I could tell, but I just could from his touch. When his hand held mine back, it was as though we were suddenly fused together and I had never felt so terrified. My eyes snapped to his and we stood unmoving for a long time. I wanted to ask him a million questions, but I think even if my voice had worked, words would have failed me.

His thumb rubbed the underside of my wrist and my eyes drifted shut at the soothing feeling. This was wrong, I was holding Spike's hand, but even as I hear the disapproval in my friend's voices swim through my mind, all I could concentrate on was his hand growing warm from my own.

I was surprised when he pulled his hand from mine and I frowned, looking at his face for yet more answers. He smiled sadly and ran the hand I'd been holding through his hair. I clicked my fingers in front of his face to grab his attention and he looked at me, his eyes intense.

I didn't understand why this affected me so much, but I feel tears prickle at my eyes because the look he gives me is so heartbreaking and I know it's because of me. All I can comfort myself with is that Spike has a soul and obviously cares for me, so why wouldn't I care for him in return. It was perfectly natural, right? I was about to begin an embarrassing round of charades and curse the Gentlemen for their stupid magic, but there was a loud and panicked knock at the front door and Spike took the brief distraction as a cue to slip out the back door into the night. I sigh and assume whoever is at the door will be a friendly face, which is why Spike decided not to hang around.

Of course it was the gang, Giles and all, who immediately flooded into my living room. They were making wild hand gestures to each other, trying to communicate and even without words, it suddenly felt too loud. I glanced briefly at the still open door Spike had slipped out of and with a heavy sigh, I softly close it, stealing one last glance into the night, before joining my friends and preparing to save Sunnydale... again.

_**TBC...**_


End file.
